The Sked

February 24, 2006|By PAUL DOYLE; Courant Staff Writer

Once An Idiot ...

Johnny Damon can't help himself. Place a microphone in front of him and he'll talk. And talk. So we expect to hear his narcissistic rants about how much the Red Sox will miss him. That's Johnny being Johnny.

As long as Damon is a productive player, his ramblings are cute.

Kevin Millar? His act wore thin last season, when he was among the worst first basemen in baseball. His performance on the field was almost as painful as his incessant talking about himself and his alleged leadership skills.

Pity the baseball community of Baltimore, a city with intelligent fans and a rich history. Millar arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for spring training with the Orioles and began talking.

On playing in Boston, he said: ``You are a rock star when you play in that city, regardless. We deal with that daily. ... People live, die, eat and breathe baseball. I think now our job as a group is to come in here and make everybody, you know, be a rock star.''

On the Orioles: ``Our job as a team is to generate enthusiasm and the fans wanting to come out, and to generate some personality on this club.''

On his favorite subject: ``I'm a little wacko. I'm going to be myself and have fun. You can't forget this is the major leagues. If you're not here to win, then why are you here?''

The Red Sox have added respected veterans such as J.T. Snow, Mike Lowell, Mark Loretta and John Flaherty, so the idiots are gone. But if you need an idiot fix, just tune in to the Orioles and hear what the backup first baseman has to say.

The Lineup

Our batting order of things you'll see, hear and talk about this weekend:

* 1. UConn-Villanova, Part II: Two weeks after losing to Villanova in Philadelphia, UConn has a rematch Sunday at Gampel Pavilion. The nationally televised game (2 p.m., Ch. 3) will be a huge tuneup for the Big East and NCAA tournaments.

* 2. UConn-Rutgers, Part II: The UConn women host Marquette Saturday, before playing at Rutgers Monday night (7:30, ESPN2). The Huskies lost to Rutgers Feb. 7, their only loss in the past 14 games.

* 3. Trinity's title run: Trinity won its eighth consecutive national men's squash championship Sunday. This weekend at Harvard, the women will be playing for their first title since 2003. The Bantams (11-1) are seeded No.2 behind Yale, which beat them in January.

* 4. Olympic finale: The Olympics end this weekend and U.S. eyes will be on Bode Miller, who has been a bust. Miller's shot at a medal is Saturday in the slalom, but he might be skiing with an injury after twisting an ankle playing basketball Tuesday. Forget the Wheaties box, Bode.

* 5. No. 1 vs. No. 2: Duke and North Carolina will play in the ACC women's tournament and could meet late in the NCAA Tournament. So Saturday's matchup between the top two teams in the nation is merely a postseason primer. Duke is No. 1 and UNC No. 2 as they meet in Chapel Hill (2 p.m.)

* 6. Bagwell watch: Jeff Bagwell will be reporting to Astros camp today, so things will get uncomfortable in Kissimmee, Fla. Bagwell, 37, is coming off a shoulder injury and the Astros have filed an insurance claim on his $17 million salary. So the team would rather he retire than report.

* 7. Rivalry nostalgia: There was no bigger rivalry in the 1980s than the Celtics and Lakers. As the teams meet Sunday in Los Angeles (7:30 p.m., ESPN), there is little animosity between the teams. The Lakers are a .500 team, the Celtics are an aimless franchise and the game will be nothing more than an offensive duel between Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant.

* 8. Hoop tricks: The Washington Generals folded in 1995, so the New York Nationals will be passing through the state as the foil for the Harlem Globetrotters this weekend. The Globetrotters, celebrating their 80th anniversary, will be at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport tonight at 7 and Saturday at 1 p.m., and at the Civic Center Sunday at 2 p.m.

* 9. More titles: High school titles will be decided in gymnastics and wrestling. The Class M gymnastics meet is today, and Class L and Class S are Saturday. Also Saturday is the wrestling State Open.